Democratic candidate for Wis. governor issues jobs plan

Wisconsin's Democratic candidate for governor, Mary Burke, released a five-point jobs plan Tuesday that involves investing in entrepreneurs, focusing on higher education and creating an online guide that shows residents how well the state is reaching its goals.

Burke said the "Invest for Success" plan evolved from her own business experience as a former Trek Bicycle Corp. executive. She said she's concerned because the state lags its neighbors in job creation and capital investment, despite the rosier economic picture Republican Gov. Scott Walker is drawing.

"For all the talk about being pro-business, the failure to take a businesslike approach to growing jobs here is holding our economy back," Burke said in the report.

Just hours after releasing her plan, Burke appeared with UPFRONT's Mike Gousha at Marquette University law school to answer questions about her jobs proposal.

"My goal is to have a top 10 thriving economy, and we have benchmarks throughout the plan about how we are going to measure progress towards that. And we will make progress during my first term, and the ultimate goal is to have a top 10 thriving economy," Burke said.

The issue of jobs will be key as Burke tries to unseat Walker. He had pledged during his 2010 campaign to add 250,000 private-sector jobs by the end of this year, a goal that appears unlikely.

"We talked about obtaining that by 2015, whether it's on Jan. 1, or a little bit into 2015, that's still our goal," Walker said Tuesday.

Unlike Walker, Burke isn't committing to creating a specific number of jobs. She said she'll measure success based on overall job growth, both as a state and compared to neighboring states; increased wages; greater investment in startups per capita; and growth in the number of college graduates.

She pledged to create an online "Wisconsin Jobs Dashboard" that she said will clearly spell out how the state is matching up against its goals.

Walker's campaign countered that the governor's current job-creation plan is working and that Burke was simply copying what made it successful.

More than 100,000 jobs and 17,000 businesses have been created since Walker took office in 2010, Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said in an email. The economy will keep growing as long as government gets out of the way and lets taxpayers keep more of their money, he added.

"Mary Burke's plan looks familiar because Gov. Walker has already taken the lead on policies aimed at closing Wisconsin's skills gap, lowering tuition costs and improving the state's business climate," Evenson said.

Burke's proposal focuses on five strategies for job growth: Investing in entire industries rather than individual companies, producing more college graduates, investing in entrepreneurs, improving the state's international export market and eliminating government red tape.

Investing in industries, such as manufacturing or business services, helps all companies in the sector, the plan says. Burke said she'd encourage companies to collaborate on innovation and worker training, and would ask industry leaders to weigh in during her administration's strategy sessions.

She also said a company's growth can be hindered by a lack of qualified workers, so she wants to see more Wisconsin residents earn college degrees. She said she'd work to lower college tuition, help graduates restructure their loan debts, and strengthen K-12 education.

Burke said she's especially interested in helping entrepreneurs because of her father's experience. She said he started Trek Bicycle in a barn in Waterloo, and now it's a global brand that employs nearly 1,000 people in Wisconsin.

To help other startups grow, she says she'd expand tax credits for angel investors, quadruple state investments in venture capital from $30 million to $120 million over four years, and include entrepreneurship training in pre-college and college classes.

Walker said he'll update his jobs plan between late April and the summer.

BUT THE SNOW MADE CONDITIONS TOO SLICK. COMMITMENT 2014 COVERAGE, DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR MARY BURKE RELEASES HER PLAN TO GROW JOBS IN WISCONSIN. DUBBED THE "INVEST FOR SUCCESS" PLAN, THE FIVE POINT JOBS PLAN INVOLVES INVESTING IN ENTREPRENEURS, FOCUSING ON HIGHER EDUCATION, AND CREATING AN ONLINE GUIDE TO SHOW RESIDENTS IF THE STATE IS MEETING ITS GOALS. UNLIKE GOVERNOR WALKER'S 250- THOUSAND NEW JOBS PLAN, BURKE IS NOT COMMITTING TO CREATING A SPECIFIC NUMBER OF JOBS. JUST HOURS AFTER RELEASING HER PLAN, BURKE APPEARED WITH UPFRONT'S MIKE GOUSHA AT MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT HER JOBS PROPOSAL. CLIP 1945 TC 12:19:53 MY GOAL IS TO HAVE A TOP TEN THRIVING ECONOMY AND WE HAVE BENCHMARKS THROUGHOUT THE PLAN ABOUT HOW WE ARE GOING TO MEASURE PROGRESS TOWARDS THAT AND WE WILL MAKE PROGRESS DURING MY FIRST TERM AND THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO HAVE A TOP TEN THRIVING ECONOMY 12:20:07 GOVERNOR WALKER'S CAMPAIGN CALLS BURKE'S PLAN A COPY OF THE GOVERNOR'S MOST SUCCESSFUL TACTICS. DURING A STOP TODAY IN CLINTONVILLE, THE GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER SAID BURKE'S PROPOSAL CONTAINS FAILED POLICIES AND HIS ADMINISTRATION HAS THE STATE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. WE'VE TURNED BUDGET DEFICITS INTO SURPLUSES. WE'VE GONE FROM TAX INCREASES TO $2 BILLION IN TAX RELIEF UNDER OUR TERM. WE'VE GONE FROM JOB LOSS TO JOB GAIN. AND WE'VE GONE FROM AN ATMOSPHERE WHERE FOUR YEARS AGO THE STATEWIDE CHAMBER SURVEY OF EMPLOYERS JUST TEN PERCENT THOUGHT WE WERE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. IT'S NOW UP TO 95 PERCENT. GOVERNOR WALKER SAYS HE'LL UPDATE HIS JOBS PLAN, BETWEEN LATE APRIL AND THE SUMMER.? BURKE RIGHT NOW IS THE ONLY ANNOUNCED CHALLENGER TO WALKER IN THE RACE FOR GOVERNOR. THE ELECTION IS IN NOVEMBER.

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